What Does It Mean To Present Your Body As A Living Sacrifice?

[Walter and Deborah]

Friday 12-29-23 6th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tevet 15 5784, 9th. Winter Day

In Living, Eating, Drinking, Etc.
 

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Love, Walter And Debbie

[Michael37]

3 hours ago, Walter and Deborah said:

Friday 12-29-23 6th. Day Of The Weekly Cycle, Tevet 15 5784, 9th. Winter Day

In Living, Eating, Drinking, Etc.
 

What Does It Mean To Present Your Body As A Living Sacrifice? - Google Search

 

 

What Does It Mean To Present Your Body As A Living Sacrifice? - Bing

Intelligent search from Bing makes it easier to quickly find what you’re looking for and rewards you.

 

Love, Walter And Debbie

Living Sacrifice: What does it mean? Are Christians to be one? (carm.org)

QUOTE:

A crucial thing to note in this passage is that we cannot do this alone. God does not desire you, individually, to be one living sacrifice while I am another. The passage is clear that what is acceptable worship to God is that we present our bodies (plural) as a living sacrifice (singular).¹ The people of God join together to offer up one living sacrifice to God. This is our service of worship. God is pleased with the offering of our unity and love. We honor Him by being united in the gospel as one people. This is the living sacrifice that God desires. Us living in devotion to Him by loving and serving one another in His name. Notice how the rest of the passage flushes this out:

• 12:3 – Don’t think too highly of yourself
• 12:4;5 – Members of the church are to all be like members of the same human body
• 12:6,7,8 – Every Christian should use his or her gifts selflessly for the benefit of the rest of the church
• 12:9 – Love without hypocrisy. Despise evil and hold fast to good.
• 12:10 – Be devoted to each other in love and give preference to one another over oneself
• 12:11,12 – Do all of this with diligence as a service to the Lord, rejoicing, praying, and enduring in persecution
• 12:13 – Give to fellow believers who have need and be hospitable to on another
• 12:14 – Bless those who persecute you
• 12:15 – Rejoice with others who are rejoicing and weep with others weeping
• 12:16 – Be of one mind. Don’t be proud. Associate even with the lowly. Don’t think of yourself as wise.

 

[LisaLola]

Romans 12

New International Version

A Living Sacrifice

12 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.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your[a] faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[d] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[e]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

[Truswell]

I need to think about this, but does it have something to do with giving God our all, by which I mean our body soul and spirit.

.

 

Edited December 30, 2023 by Truswell

[Vine Abider]

We are in Romans 12 with my local group.  One brother shared that he was considering that very verse, "present yourself a living sacrifice" while at the gym recently.  For us guys, going to the gym presents us with a lot of "eye candy" to potentially gawk at and he said he was getting particularly distracted, when he remembered that verse.  So he told the Lord, "Lord, I just present my body to you right now.  My eyes are yours and are for You.  I'm not entirely sure what presenting myself to you means in this situation, so help me with that." 

He said immediately the temptation to look at this woman left him, and he was at peace for the rest of his workout!

[Truswell]

Our body is all of us, our spirit, soul, and flesh, that would include our mind and thoughts. God wants all of us.
It makes me tremble to think of a living sacrifice. First century Christians knew everything there was to know about sacrifice. They brought the lamb to the altar and then killed it. Thank goodness God wants a living sacrifice, His service to do. I prefer to think of giving up worldly pleasures and devoting our time and energy to the work of the Lord.

The next verse explains it better:
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Rom 12:2)
 

[Guest AFlameOfFire]

In respects to our bodies

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Our bodies and the will of God as it pertains to our sanctification he says here,

1 Thes 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

1 Thes 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

1 Thes 4:5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

Same theme in 1 Cr 6, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body where fornication is mentioned again

1 Cr 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

1 Cr 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

1 Cr 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

So basically, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof as he tells us in Rom 6:13

The tongue also is a member of our body and in James 3:6 says, And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

What comes out of our mouths defiles our body as Jesus said

Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

[Guest AFlameOfFire]

I hadn't finished but had to make dinner

As a spiritual house we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, even as our tongue is a member of  our bodies and we offer that member likewise as a living sacrifice (even a sacrifice of praise and giving of thanks) by him also

Hebrews 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks 
to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Similarly it says,

Prov 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Since we can defile the body in respects to what comes out of our mouths we are to put off certain manners of communications

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Ephes 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Peter ties in loving life and seeing good days with the tongue also.

1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile
 

The offering of our bodies would pertain to our whole body in few ways

Edited December 30, 2023 by AFlameOfFire

[Mr. M]

13 hours ago, AFlameOfFire said:

I hadn't finished but had to make dinner

As a spiritual house we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, even as our tongue is a member of  our bodies and we offer that member likewise as a living sacrifice (even a sacrifice of praise and giving of thanks) by him also

Hebrews 13:15-16 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks 
to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Similarly it says,

Prov 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.

Since we can defile the body in respects to what comes out of our mouths we are to put off certain manners of communications

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

Ephes 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Peter ties in loving life and seeing good days with the tongue also.

1 Peter 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile
 

The offering of our bodies would pertain to our whole body in few ways

In short, chapter 12 answers the question that should have come to the mind of the reader back in chapter 6; i.e. how am I to be an instrument of righteousness?           1 John 3:7

[Guest AFlameOfFire]

Mr M, I cannot quote you because you are on ignore (its how that feature works, I cannot see your posts when I am signed on) but I can read you when I am offline and catch that you have responded somewhere if I am in the right place at the right time.

It seems you are not responding to the thread but to me rather for some reason, and I have a habit of missing your point, but from what I could gather from your post, and in an attempt to be agreeable in something with you, I added the one verse you actually mention in full in it (below) and show that also in agreement with my post's main focus.

This is the will of God concerning our bodies

1 Thes 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

Which is your vessel

1 Thes 4:4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

In contrast to the lust of concupiscence

1 Thes 4:5 Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God

Same here speaking of fornication and evil concupiscence 

Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence,  and covetousness, which is idolatry.

It is the will of God that we should abstain from fornication and so again

1 Cr 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost

1 Cr 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

And so he is speaking in the context of fornication when he speaks to the contrary , to glorify God in your body 

1 Cr 6:20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Which would mean that it is not glorying God in that doing but in our abstaining from it is.

Romans 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

Yielding the members of our bodies as instruments of  righteoussness (not unrighteousness)

Romans 6:13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.

Mr. M's addition here

1 John 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Agrees in the same, be not deceived in the following

1 Cr 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters,  nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Which brings in "not being deceived" there as does 1 John 3:7, the righteous that doeth righteousness verses the practice of unrighteousness as far as inheriting the Kingdom of God and fornication is mentioned there as well (or rather fornicators). Which was also one of the necessary things mentioned at the very start of their ministry to the Gentiles (See Acts 15:27:28)

Offering your body as a living sacrifice can be demonstrated in dying daily, as Paul says,  "I die daily". In the mortification of your members which are  upon the earth. 

Done through the Spirit

Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

I am taking the presenting of ones body as a living sacrifice in this direction as the scriptures show it in every which way accordingly. Everyone can add to the thread according to the direction they find also, that is just mine as it relates to the body and honoring God in it.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2023 by AFlameOfFire