1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
to present [offer]
The Greek word “present” means offer, to place before, to put at one’s disposal. Jesus’ parents presented him “to the Lord” in the temple (Lu 2:22). Literally, “present” comes from two words: to stand and before. When we “present” ourselves to the Lord, we stand before Him saying, “I am yours.”
The Greek word was used in the ancient world for presenting a sacrifice at an altar. Presenting is the language of sacrifice. This was especially true also in the Old Testament usage; it was used for offering a sacrifice at the temple. In this case we present the sacrifice of ourselves. We yield ourselves to God for whatever He wants.
Paul used the term “present” five times in Romans 6:
Ro 6:13, Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Ro 6:19, I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.
your bodies
The body of the believer is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Co 6:19-20). The body in this context is the totality of our life and activity, the total person, not the physical body.
Christian living does not consist essentially in religious observances, holidays, or sacred acts. It is life (body and soul) dedicated to God in the secular sphere. Assembling together for worship and mutual edification is proper; however, it is only a small dimension of Christian living.
The victim to be offered is our bodies, the entire person.
2 Co 4:10-11, 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
PRINCIPLE:
The Christian offers the sacrifice of his life because of the divine operating assets God offers in grace.
APPLICATION:
The idea of presenting is based on God’s grace and flows from His grace. It is an obligation of the Christian to think about God’s mercies toward us. Otherwise, we live our spiritual lives in a vacuum.
